SESSION TWO OUR STATEMENTS

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1 SESSON TWO OUR STATEMENTS Now plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10 OUR PURPOSE STATEMENT Why We Exist As a Church Oak Hill Baptist Church is committed to being on-mission with Jesus Christ in Cumberland County, in the state of Tennessee, in the United States of America, and to the very ends of the earth. The purpose of our church is summarized in the sentence above and is based on two key scriptures. The Great Commandment: Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22: The Great Commission: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that have commanded you; and lo, am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20 To Love God with all your heart is WORSHP. To Love your neighbor as yourself is MNSTRY. To Go.make disciples is EVANGELSM (building the Kingdom). To Baptize is to NCORPORATE NTO FELLOWSHP. To Teach them all things is DSCPLESHP. 11

2 OAH HLL BAPTST CHURCH EXSTS: 1. To GOD PRESENCE (worship) 2. To GOD S LOVE (ministry) 3. To GOD S WORD (evangelism) 4. To GOD S FAMLY (fellowship) 5. To GOD S PEOPLE (discipleship). WE EXST TO CELEBRTE GOD S PRESENCE You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. Matthew 4:10 for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship, Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23, 24 Expressions of Worship W W Singing Eph. 5:10 O O Commitment Romans 12:1, 2 R R Praying Ps. 95:6 S S Hearing the Word John 17:17 H H Giving 1 Cor. 16:1, 2 Baptism Romans 6:3, 4 P P Meditating Hab. 2:20 Lord s Supper 1 Cor. 11:23, 26 OAH HLL BAPTST WORSHP STYLE Celebration nspiration Preparation Ps. 122:1 sa. 40:31 Eph. 4:11, 12 12

3 . WE EXST TO COMMUNCATE GOD S WORD E V A N G E L S M His intent was that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known Eph. 3:10 For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Rom. 10:13, 14 WHY OUR CHURCH MUST NEVER STOP GROWNG 1. BECAUSE He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Pet. 3:9, 2 Cor. 5:14, Luke 15:3-10, Matt. 9:12, BECAUSE Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. Luke 14:23 3. BECAUSE Under Christ s control the whole body grows as God causes it to grow. Col. 2:19 (summarized) (Jesus) will build my church. Matt. 16:18 13

4 UNBBLCAL EXCUSES FOR NOT GROWNG God isn t interested in numbers Our church wants quality not quantity Large churches are impersonal We believe our church must grow and at the same time. And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matt. 24:14. D S C P L E S H V. WE EXST TO EDUCATE GOD S PEOPLE Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity Heb. 6:1 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the quipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to be a perfect man, to the measure of the fullness of Christ. Eph. 4:11-13 WE EXST TO DEMONSTRATE GOD S LOVE M N S T R By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35, John 3:16, 17, Matt. 25:34-40, Heb. 13:16, Rom 12:13 The heartbeat of Oak Hill Baptist Church is our. Every member needs to be a part of one. Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities.and there are different kinds of service to God (ministry)..all of you together form the one Body of Christ and each of you is a separate and necessary part of it. 14

5 1 Cor. 12:4, 5, 27 (summarized) OUR STATEMENT OF FATH WHAT WE BELEVE n essential belief we have unity. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Eph.4:4-6 n non-essential belief we have liberty. Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters Who are you to judge someone else s servant? To his own master he stands or falls so then each of us will give an account of himself to God so whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22 (summarized) n all our beliefs we show charity. And though have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though have all faith, so that could remove mountains, but have not love, am nothing. 1 Cor. 13:2 THE ESSENTALS WE BELEVE 1. ABOUT GOD God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. Genesis 1:1, 26, 27, 3:22, Psalm 9:2, Matt. 28:19, Peter 1:2, por. 13:14 2. ABOUT JESUS CHRST Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords. Matt. 1:22, 23, sa. 9:6, John 1:1-5, 14:10-30, Heb. 4:14, 15, Cor. 15:3, 4, Romans 1:3, 4, Acts 1:9-11, Tim 6:14, 15, Titus 2:13 3. ABOUT THE HOLY SPRT The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of the need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. As Christians we week to live under His control daily. Cor. 3:17, John 16:7-13, 14:16-17, Acts 1:8, cor. 2:12, 3:16, Eph. 1:13, Gal. 5:25, Eph. 5:1 15

6 4. ABOUT THE BBLE The Bible is God s Word to us. t was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. t is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error. Tim. 3:16, Pet. 1:20, 21, Tim 1:13, Ps. 119:105, 160, 12:6, Proverbs 30:5 5. ABOUT HUMAN BENGS People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God s creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. This attitude separates people from God and causes many problems in life. Genesis 1:17, Eph. 2:8, 9, John 14:6, 1:12, Tutus 3:5, Gal. 3:26, Rom. 5:1 6. ABOUT SALVATON Salvation is God s free gift to us but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith 7. ABOUT ETERMAL SECURTY Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. f you have been genuinely saved, you cannot lose it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. t is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us the security. John 10:29, Tim. 1:12m Heb. 7:25, 10:10, 14, Peter 1: ABOUT ETERNTY People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence. John 3:16, John 14:17, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:17, 18, Rev. 20:15, Cor. 2:7-9 16

7 9. ABOUT THE CHURCH We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all believing persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work and fellowship. We believe that god has given the members of the local church the primary task of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. We also believe that each local church is autonomous in that it is self-governing and independent from any denominational control. Acts 16:5, Cor. 4:17, Eph. 5:23, Colossians 1:18, Acts 6: ABOUT THE LAST THNGS We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His Kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgement, the eternal security of the saved, and endless suffering of the lost. Thess. 4:13, Rev , John 5:24-29, Cor. 15:20-28, Matt. 25:31-42, Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:11-15, John 14:1-3, Cor. 15:51-58, Thess. 4:17, Luke 16:19-31, Matt. 25:41 17

8 OUR LFESTYLE STATEMENT WHAT WE PRACTCE Beliefs are not worth much unless they are translated into actions. Based on what the Bible teaches, we feel very strongly about the following sever practices: Bible as our sole authority All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness 2 Tim 3:16 Since God s Word is the only completely reliable and truthful authority, we accept the Bible as our manual for living. Our first question when faced with a decision is What does the Bible say? We practice daily Bible reading, Bible study, and Bible memorization. The Bible is the basis for all we believe. Autonomy of each local church And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the Beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. Col. 1:18 Christ is the recognized head of our church, not any person, group, or religious organization. While recognizing the value of associating and cooperating with other groups of Christians, we believe every local church should be self-governing and independent from any denominational control. Priesthood of every believer and He made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Rev. 1:6 But you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people Pet. 2:9 The Bible teaches that every Christian is called to full time Christian service, regardless of his or her vocation. We practice the truth that every believer is a minister by encouraging every member to find a place of service and ministry. Every believer has direct access to God through prayer and Bible reading. 18

9 \ OUR LFESTYLE STTEMENT What We Practice (cont.) Tithing A tithe of everything from the land belongs to the Lord, it is holy to the Lord. Lev. 26:30 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house Malachi 3:10 At Oak Hill Baptist Church, we practice tithing for the support of Christ s Body, the church, as God commands. We recognize that giving 10% of our income is the Biblical standard of giving. mmersion For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ Col. 2:12 We practice baptism by immersion under water the way Jesus was baptized, and the way the Bible commands. Spirit-Led Living (Jesus said) am the Vine, you are the branches. f you abide in me and in you, you will bear much fruit; but apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 We believe the only way possible to live the Christian life is by God s power within us. So we seek to practice a daily dependence on God s Spirit to enable us to do what is right. Phil. 2:13. Eph. 5:18 Telling others about Christ Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Peter 3:15 t is the responsibility of every Christian to share the Good News with those God brings us into contact with. We practice personal sharing about Christ and inviting friends to church. 19

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